It is utterly impossible to discuss this issue in-depth because the whole thing hinges on the ending. Curt Conners has crafted a new organism from Spider-Man’s blood… this issue, the creature has escaped and has a thirst for blood of its own. As it rampages the city, Mary Jane Watson and Gwen Stacy have a long-needed heart-to-heart.

The end of this issue has been a point of speculation among fandom for some time, and all I’m willing to say without spoiling it is that I really hope this turns out to be one of those classic comic book fake-out endings that turns out to mean something else next issue, because if this ending stands, I’m going to be seriously angry.

The issue is constructed well, with plenty of character stuff between our two female leads. In fact, the issue flows so well that it wasn’t until I started writing this review that I realized Peter Parker never even appears, in either of his identities. As good as the characterization is, it is a classic example of how Bendis tends to stretch out his stories with padded dialogue and elongated scene. In-between the nice character stuff we get stilted dialogue like “No.” “Uh-huh. Please.” “Well…” “I’m like, so not stupid.” Granted, this is the way people talk in real life, but when you read too much of it, it starts to get boring.

The rest of it is well-done, even if I can’t get into it in detail. But man, I’m miffed right now.

Mark Bagley, as always, is flawless in his artwork. Way too many artists make Mary Jane and Gwen look exactly the same save for hair color. Bagley gives them each their own distinctive look. You could tell them apart without a problem even if they were dressed identically and the book were in black-and-white.

It’s interesting to note that there were two inkers on this issue, because the transition was flawless. I wonder if perhaps one of them inked the daytime scenes and the other the night scenes, because the flow is perfect and that’s one of the few ways I can imagine to hide the transition.

It’s a good issue. A solid issue. But it’s an issue that leaves me a little mad, because I’m afraid Bendis is sacrificing a lot of storytelling potential for the sake of shock value. Still, this is a comic book, and the final outcome remains to be seen.